Those who don’t know how to give up

It is the varieties in its nature, temperament and convictions that make the human race so wonderful. A few people, say Shakespeare, were able to muster the ability to narrate man in his or her full glories and beauty. Remember the lines in the play Hamlet, where the Bard employs his full emotion in exploring the magnificent features of man. Humans share some common attributes. Yet every man is unique with his distinct qualities.
There are socialising men, loners, extroverts and introverts. Some love to live and move in groups, others avoid assemblies and prefer to remain in solitude. Many get easily hurt when bruised by failures. They give up on the pompously undertaken ventures seeing even the faint signs of defeat. While others soldier on, going all alone. Thus said Rabindranath Tagore, "Upon calling on people, if you find none beside you, then go ahead all by yourself."
Ilias Kanchan, the popular actor and campaigner for a safe road, has been on his mission for over two decades. He lost his wife in a terrible road accident in Chittagong in 1993. Transcending his personal bereavement, he made the tragic accident an occasion to start a campaign for road safety.  Adamantly focused on a demand for such a long period of time with no reward is rare in our society.
Road accidents cause premature deaths to hundreds in this country every year. The menace has long reached an alarming level. Civil societies, families of the accident victims and others are not sitting idle. They organise regular protest rallies, human chains etc to press their demand for safe roads. As is natural, most of them become exhausted and distraught as they see no respite from these avoidable deaths. Ilias Kanchan is not the person to throw in the towel. He may have made it clear he won't leave the scene until the authorities start doing something to check road accidents. For some time he found film director Subhas Dutta at his side. Now that the filmmaker is no more, the actor alone will have to carry the campaign's mantle.
In the times of the supremacy of technology, the age-old methods of achieving a mission are no longer in use. Yet there are many who love to fight the odds plaguing their lives in a conventional way. Civil rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila began a hunger strike on  November 02, 2000, at a town in the Indian state of Manipur. The 'Iron Lady of Manipur' has been on fast since that day. Sharmila, 43, is now in her 15th year of hunger strike, a non-violent form of agitation.  She chose the Gandhian path of protest to demand the repeal of the Indian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958. She blames this Act for the killing of 10 Manipuri people by paramilitary force Assamese Rifles in 2000. Although in the last fourteen years Sharmila's unique protest has won her sympathy of activists and organisations from across the world, the Manipuri lady is distinguished by her strong resolve and commitment to her mission. In this respect, she finds herself alone in her fight.
There are moments when a few men and women discover the futility of doing things collectively. Great inventions, feats in various sectors, or innovations have been made on individual and highly private initiatives. Likewise, life becomes worth living through contributions made by people coming out of nowhere. They begin humbly, but their perseverance gives their deeds a distinctive shine.
    shihabskr@ymail.com